Detecting cholangiocarcinoma

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is technology relating to detecting neoplasia and particularly, but not exclusively, to methods, compositions, and related uses for detecting neoplasms such as cholangiocarinoma.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/242,695, filed Jan. 8, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/864,158, filed Sep. 24, 2015, allowed as U.S. Pat. No. 10,184,154, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/055,737, filed Sep. 26, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Provided herein is technology relating to detecting neoplasia and particularly, but not exclusively, to methods, compositions, and related uses for detecting neoplasms such as cholangiocarinoma.

BACKGROUND

Cholangiocarcinomas (CCs) are malignancies of the biliary duct system that may originate in the liver and extrahepatic bile ducts, which terminate at the ampulla of Vater (see, e.g., Douglass H O, et al., In: Holland J F, et al, eds. Cancer Medicine. Vol 2. Philadelphia, Pa: Lea & Febiger. 1993:1455-62; Lake J R. B In: Sleisinger M H, Fordtran J S, eds. Gastrointestinal Disease. 5th ed. Vol 2. Philadelphia, Pa.: W B Saunders. 1993:1891-1902; Lotze M T, et al., In: Devita V, Hellman S, Rosenberg S. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 4th. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott; 1993:883-907; de Groen P C, et al., N Engl J Med. Oct 28 1999;341(18):1368-78). CCs are encountered in 3 geographic regions: intrahepatic, extrahepatic (ie, perihilar), and distal extrahepatic. Perihilar tumors are the most common CCs, and intrahepatic tumors are the least common. Perihilar tumors, also called Klatskin tumors occur at the bifurcation of right and left hepatic ducts. Distal extrahepatic tumors are located from the upper border of the pancreas to the ampulla. More than 95% of these tumors are ductal adenocarcinomas; many patients present with unresectable or metastatic disease.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a tumor that arises from the intrahepatic or extrahepatic biliary epithelium. More than 90% are adenocarcinomas, and the remainder are squamous cell tumors. The etiology of most bile duct cancers remains undetermined. Long-standing inflammation, as with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) or chronic parasitic infection, has been suggested to play a role by inducing hyperplasia, cellular proliferation, and, ultimately, malignant transformation. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma may be associated with chronic ulcerative colitis and chronic cholecystitis.

Cholangiocarcinomas tend to grow slowly and to infiltrate the walls of the ducts, dissecting along tissue planes. Local extension occurs into the liver, porta hepatis, and regional lymph nodes of the celiac and pancreaticoduodenal chains. Life-threatening infection (cholangitis) may occur that requires immediate antibiotic intervention and aggressive biliary drainage.

Despite aggressive anticancer therapy and interventional supportive care (ie, wall stents or percutaneous biliary drainage), median survival rate is low, since most patients (90%) are not eligible for curative resection. The overall survival is approximately 6 months.

As such, improved methods for early stage detection of cholangiocarcinomas is needed.

SUMMARY

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is difficult to diagnose, even in high risk patients. Moreover, most patients who develop CCA do not have known risk factors. Imaging and cytology are specific but poorly sensitive. Because potentially curative treatments are available, there is critical need for complementary diagnostic and screening tools

Provided herein is technology for CCA screening markers that provide a high signal-to-noise ratio and a low background level when detected from samples taken from a subject.

Markers and/or panels of markers (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2) were identified in case-control studies by comparing the methylation state of DNA markers from intrahepatic and extrahepatic tissue samples from subjects with CCA to the methylation state of the same DNA markers from control subjects (see, Examples 1 and 2).

As described herein, the technology provides a number of methylated DNA markers and subsets thereof (e.g., sets of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or more markers) with high discrimination for CCA. Experiments applied a selection filter to candidate markers to identify markers that provide a high signal to noise ratio and a low background level to provide high specificity, e.g., when assaying distant media (e.g., stool, blood, urine, metastatic tissue, intra-hepatic tissue, extra-hepatic tissue, etc.) for purposes of cancer screening or diagnosis.

In some embodiments, the technology is related to assessing the presence of and methylation state of one or more of the markers identified herein in a biological sample. These markers comprise one or more differentially methylated regions (DMR) as discussed herein (see, Examples 1 and 2). Methylation state is assessed in embodiments of the technology. As such, the technology provided herein is not restricted in the method by which a gene's methylation state is measured. For example, in some embodiments the methylation state is measured by a genome scanning method. For example, one method involves restriction landmark genomic scanning (Kawai et al. (1994) Mol. Cell. Biol. 14: 7421-7427) and another example involves methylation-sensitive arbitrarily primed PCR (Gonzalgo et al. (1997) Cancer Res. 57: 594-599). In some embodiments, changes in methylation patterns at specific CpG sites are monitored by digestion of genomic DNA with methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes followed by Southern analysis of the regions of interest (digestion-Southern method). In some embodiments, analyzing changes in methylation patterns involves a PCR-based process that involves digestion of genomic DNA with methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes prior to PCR amplification (Singer-Sam et al. (1990) Nucl. Acids Res. 18: 687). In addition, other techniques have been reported that utilize bisulfite treatment of DNA as a starting point for methylation analysis. These include methylation-specific PCR (MSP) (Herman et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 9821-9826) and restriction enzyme digestion of PCR products amplified from bisulfite-converted DNA (Sadri and Hornsby (1996) Nucl. Acids Res. 24: 5058-5059; and Xiong and Laird (1997) Nucl. Acids Res. 25:

2532-2534). PCR techniques have been developed for detection of gene mutations (Kuppuswamy et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88: 1143-1147) and quantification of allelic-specific expression (Szabo and Mann (1995) Genes Dev. 9: 3097-3108; and Singer-Sam et al. (1992) PCR Methods Appl. 1: 160-163). Such techniques use internal primers, which anneal to a PCR-generated template and terminate immediately 5′ of the single nucleotide to be assayed. Methods using a “quantitative Ms-SNuPE assay” as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,650 are used in some embodiments.

Upon evaluating a methylation state, the methylation state is often expressed as the fraction or percentage of individual strands of DNA that is methylated at a particular site (e.g., at a single nucleotide, at a particular region or locus, at a longer sequence of interest, e.g., up to a ˜100-bp, 200-bp, 500-bp, 1000-bp subsequence of a DNA or longer) relative to the total population of DNA in the sample comprising that particular site. Traditionally, the amount of the unmethylated nucleic acid is determined by PCR using calibrators. Then, a known amount of DNA is bisulfite treated and the resulting methylation-specific sequence is determined using either a real-time PCR or other exponential amplification, e.g., a QuARTS assay (e.g., as provided by U.S. Pat. No. 8,361,720; and U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2012/0122088 and 2012/0122106, incorporated herein by reference).

For example, in some embodiments methods comprise generating a standard curve for the unmethylated target by using external standards. The standard curve is constructed from at least two points and relates the real-time Ct value for unmethylated DNA to known quantitative standards. Then, a second standard curve for the methylated target is constructed from at least two points and external standards. This second standard curve relates the Ct for methylated DNA to known quantitative standards. Next, the test sample Ct values are determined for the methylated and unmethylated populations and the genomic equivalents of DNA are calculated from the standard curves produced by the first two steps. The percentage of methylation at the site of interest is calculated from the amount of methylated DNAs relative to the total amount of DNAs in the population, e.g., (number of methylated DNAs)/(the number of methylated DNAs+number of unmethylated DNAs)×100.

Also provided herein are compositions and kits for practicing the methods. For example, in some embodiments, reagents (e.g., primers, probes) specific for one or more markers are provided alone or in sets (e.g., sets of primers pairs for amplifying a plurality of markers). Additional reagents for conducting a detection assay may also be provided (e.g., enzymes, buffers, positive and negative controls for conducting QuARTS, PCR, sequencing, bisulfate, or other assays). In some embodiments, the kits containing one or more reagent necessary, sufficient, or useful for conducting a method are provided. Also provided are reactions mixtures containing the reagents. Further provided are master mix reagent sets containing a plurality of reagents that may be added to each other and/or to a test sample to complete a reaction mixture.

Accordingly, provided herein is technology related to a method of screening for either intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA in a sample obtained from a subject, the method comprising assaying a methylation state of a marker in a sample obtained from a subject; and identifying the subject as having either intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA when the methylation state of the marker is different than a methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm (e.g., either intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA), wherein the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1 and chr7.25896389-25896501 (see, Example 1). Some embodiments provide methods comprising assaying a plurality of markers, e.g., comprising assaying 2 to 8 markers.

Provided herein is technology related to a method of screening for intra-hepatic CCA in a sample obtained from a subject, the method comprising assaying a methylation state of a marker in a sample obtained from a subject; and identifying the subject as having intra-hepatic CCA when the methylation state of the marker is different than a methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA), wherein the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from CYP26C1, EMX1, HIST1H1D, HOXA1, KLHDC7B, LBX2, LOC645323, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, chr7.25896389, PNMAL2, PRKCB, SP9, ST8SIA1, TRIM36, and ZNF781 (see, Example 1). Some embodiments provide methods comprising assaying a plurality of markers, e.g., comprising assaying 2 to 8 markers.

Provided herein is technology related to a method of screening for extra-hepatic CCA in a sample obtained from a subject, the method comprising assaying a methylation state of two markers in a sample obtained from a subject; and identifying the subject as having extra-hepatic CCA when the methylation state of the two markers are different than a methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm (e.g., extra-hepatic CCA), wherein the two marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from CYP26C1 and LOC645323 (see, Example 1).

Provided herein is technology related to a method of screening for extra-hepatic CCA in a sample obtained from a subject, the method comprising assaying a methylation state of a marker in a sample obtained from a subject; and identifying the subject as having extra-hepatic CCA when the methylation state of the marker is different than a methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm (e.g., extra-hepatic CCA), wherein the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from EMX1, HOXA1, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2 (see, Example 2). Some embodiments provide methods comprising assaying a plurality of markers, e.g., comprising assaying 2 to 8 markers.

The technology is not limited in the methylation state assessed. In some embodiments assessing the methylation state of the marker in the sample comprises determining the methylation state of one base. In some embodiments, assaying the methylation state of the marker in the sample comprises determining the extent of methylation at a plurality of bases. Moreover, in some embodiments the methylation state of the marker comprises an increased methylation of the marker relative to a normal methylation state of the marker. In some embodiments, the methylation state of the marker comprises a decreased methylation of the marker relative to a normal methylation state of the marker. In some embodiments the methylation state of the marker comprises a different pattern of methylation of the marker relative to a normal methylation state of the marker.

Furthermore, in some embodiments the marker is a region of 100 or fewer bases, the marker is a region of 500 or fewer bases, the marker is a region of 1000 or fewer bases, the marker is a region of 5000 or fewer bases, or, in some embodiments, the marker is one base. In some embodiments the marker is in a high CpG density promoter.

The technology is not limited by sample type. For example, in some embodiments the sample is a stool sample, a tissue sample, an intrahepatic tissue sample, a bile sample, duodenal fluid aspirate, an extrahepatic tissue sample, a blood sample (e.g., plasma, serum, whole blood), an excretion, or a urine sample. In some embodiments, the sample is obtained via a bile duct cytology brushing.

Furthermore, the technology is not limited in the method used to determine methylation state. In some embodiments the assaying comprises using methylation specific polymerase chain reaction, nucleic acid sequencing, mass spectrometry, methylation specific nuclease, mass-based separation, or target capture. In some embodiments, the assaying comprises use of a methylation specific oligonucleotide. In some embodiments, the technology uses massively parallel sequencing (e.g., next-generation sequencing) to determine methylation state, e.g., sequencing-by-synthesis, real-time (e.g., single-molecule) sequencing, bead emulsion sequencing, nanopore sequencing, etc.

The technology provides reagents for detecting a DMR. In some embodiments are provided an oligonucleotide comprising a sequence complementary to a chromosomal region having a base in a DMR, e.g., an oligonucleotide sensitive to methylation state of a DMR.

Kit embodiments are provided, e.g., a kit comprising a bisulfite reagent; and a control nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) and having a methylation state associated with a subject who does not have a cancer (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA). In some embodiments, kits comprise a bisulfite reagent and an oligonucleotide as described herein. In some embodiments, kits comprise a bisulfite reagent; and a control nucleic acid comprising a sequence from such a chromosomal region and having a methylation state associated with a subject who has CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA). Some kit embodiments comprise a sample collector for obtaining a sample from a subject (e.g., a stool sample); reagents for isolating a nucleic acid from the sample; a bisulfite reagent; and an oligonucleotide as described herein.

The technology is related to embodiments of compositions (e.g., reaction mixtures). In some embodiments are provided a composition comprising a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) and a bisulfite reagent. Some embodiments provide a composition comprising a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) and an oligonucleotide as described herein. Some embodiments provide a composition comprising a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) and a methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme. Some embodiments provide a composition comprising a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) and a polymerase.

Additional related method embodiments are provided for screening for a neoplasm (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA) in a sample obtained from a subject, e.g., a method comprising determining a methylation state of a marker in the sample comprising a base in a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2); comparing the methylation state of the marker from the subject sample to a methylation state of the marker from a normal control sample from a subject who does not have CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA); and determining a confidence interval and/or a p value of the difference in the methylation state of the subject sample and the normal control sample. In some embodiments, the confidence interval is 90%, 95%, 97.5%, 98%, 99%, 99.5%, 99.9% or 99.99% and the p value is 0.1, 0.05, 0.025, 0.02, 0.01, 0.005, 0.001, or 0.0001. Some embodiments of methods provide steps of reacting a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) with a bisulfite reagent to produce a bisulfite-reacted nucleic acid; sequencing the bisulfite-reacted nucleic acid to provide a nucleotide sequence of the bisulfite-reacted nucleic acid; comparing the nucleotide sequence of the bisulfite-reacted nucleic acid with a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid comprising the chromosomal region from a subject who does not have CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA) to identify differences in the two sequences; and identifying the subject as having a neoplasm when a difference is present.

Systems for screening for CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA) in a sample obtained from a subject are provided by the technology. Exemplary embodiments of systems include, e.g., a system for screening for CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA) in a sample obtained from a subject, the system comprising an analysis component configured to determine the methylation state of a sample, a software component configured to compare the methylation state of the sample with a control sample or a reference sample methylation state recorded in a database, and an alert component configured to alert a user of a cancer-associated methylation state. An alert is determined in some embodiments by a software component that receives the results from multiple assays (e.g., determining the methylation states of multiple markers, e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)) and calculating a value or result to report based on the multiple results. Some embodiments provide a database of weighted parameters associated with each a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) provided herein for use in calculating a value or result and/or an alert to report to a user (e.g., such as a physician, nurse, clinician, etc.). In some embodiments all results from multiple assays are reported and in some embodiments one or more results are used to provide a score, value, or result based on a composite of one or more results from multiple assays that is indicative of a CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA) risk in a subject.

In some embodiments of systems, a sample comprises a nucleic acid comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2). In some embodiments the system further comprises a component for isolating a nucleic acid, a component for collecting a sample such as a component for collecting a stool sample. In some embodiments, the system comprises nucleic acid sequences comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2). In some embodiments the database comprises nucleic acid sequences from subjects who do not have CCA. Also provided are nucleic acids, e.g., a set of nucleic acids, each nucleic acid having a sequence comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2). In some embodiments the set of nucleic acids wherein each nucleic acid has a sequence from a subject who does not have CCA. Related system embodiments comprise a set of nucleic acids as described and a database of nucleic acid sequences associated with the set of nucleic acids. Some embodiments further comprise a bisulfate reagent. And, some embodiments further comprise a nucleic acid sequencer.

In certain embodiments, methods for characterizing a sample obtained from a human subject are provided, comprising a) obtaining a sample from a human subject; b) assaying a methylation state of one or more markers in the sample, wherein the marker comprises a base in a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from the following groups of markers: HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2; and c) comparing the methylation state of the assayed marker to the methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm.

In some embodiments, the neoplasm is intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma or extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

In some embodiments, assaying the methylation state of the one or more markers in the sample comprises determining the methylation state of one or more bases for assayed marker.

In some embodiments, the methylation state of the one or more markers comprises an increased or decreased methylation of the assayed marker relative to a normal methylation state of the marker, and/or a different pattern of methylation of the assayed marker relative to a normal methylation state of the marker.

In some embodiments, the sample is a stool sample, a tissue sample, an intrahepatic tissue sample, an extrahepatic tissue sample, a blood sample, or a urine sample.

In some embodiments, the assaying comprises use of a methylation specific oligonucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1-42.

Additional embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art based on the teachings contained herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the biological validation of candidate markers at 90% specificity for intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas (iCCAs). Notably, for iCCA, HOXA1 alone (AUC 0.99) yielded 100% sensitivity at 90% specificity.

FIG. 2 shows the biological validation of candidate markers at 90% specificity for extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas (eCCAs). Notably, for eCCA, the marker pair CYP26C1 and LOC645323 (AUC 0.92) was 83% sensitive at 90% specificity.

FIG. 3 shows AUC for iCCA and eCCA for the 16 markers among the 23 markers selected for validation testing. The first column for each marker is for iCCA. The second column for each marker is for eCCA.

DEFINITIONS

To facilitate an understanding of the present technology, a number of terms and phrases are defined below. Additional definitions are set forth throughout the detailed description.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Furthermore, the phrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

As used herein, “methylation” refers to cytosine methylation at positions C5 or N4 of cytosine, the N6 position of adenine, or other types of nucleic acid methylation. In vitro amplified DNA is usually unmethylated because typical in vitro DNA amplification methods do not retain the methylation pattern of the amplification template. However, “unmethylated DNA” or “methylated DNA” can also refer to amplified DNA whose original template was unmethylated or methylated, respectively.

Accordingly, as used herein a “methylated nucleotide” or a “methylated nucleotide base” refers to the presence of a methyl moiety on a nucleotide base, where the methyl moiety is not present in a recognized typical nucleotide base. For example, cytosine does not contain a methyl moiety on its pyrimidine ring, but 5-methylcytosine contains a methyl moiety at position 5 of its pyrimidine ring. Therefore, cytosine is not a methylated nucleotide and 5-methylcytosine is a methylated nucleotide. In another example, thymine contains a methyl moiety at position 5 of its pyrimidine ring; however, for purposes herein, thymine is not considered a methylated nucleotide when present in DNA since thymine is a typical nucleotide base of DNA.

As used herein, a “methylated nucleic acid molecule” refers to a nucleic acid molecule that contains one or more methylated nucleotides.

As used herein, a “methylation state”, “methylation profile”, and “methylation status” of a nucleic acid molecule refers to the presence of absence of one or more methylated nucleotide bases in the nucleic acid molecule. For example, a nucleic acid molecule containing a methylated cytosine is considered methylated (e.g., the methylation state of the nucleic acid molecule is methylated). A nucleic acid molecule that does not contain any methylated nucleotides is considered unmethylated.

The methylation state of a particular nucleic acid sequence (e.g., a gene marker or DNA region as described herein) can indicate the methylation state of every base in the sequence or can indicate the methylation state of a subset of the bases (e.g., of one or more cytosines) within the sequence, or can indicate information regarding regional methylation density within the sequence with or without providing precise information of the locations within the sequence the methylation occurs.

The methylation state of a nucleotide locus in a nucleic acid molecule refers to the presence or absence of a methylated nucleotide at a particular locus in the nucleic acid molecule. For example, the methylation state of a cytosine at the 7th nucleotide in a nucleic acid molecule is methylated when the nucleotide present at the 7th nucleotide in the nucleic acid molecule is 5-methylcytosine. Similarly, the methylation state of a cytosine at the 7th nucleotide in a nucleic acid molecule is unmethylated when the nucleotide present at the 7th nucleotide in the nucleic acid molecule is cytosine (and not 5-methylcytosine).

The methylation status can optionally be represented or indicated by a “methylation value” (e.g., representing a methylation frequency, fraction, ratio, percent, etc.) A methylation value can be generated, for example, by quantifying the amount of intact nucleic acid present following restriction digestion with a methylation dependent restriction enzyme or by comparing amplification profiles after bisulfite reaction or by comparing sequences of bisulfite-treated and untreated nucleic acids. Accordingly, a value, e.g., a methylation value, represents the methylation status and can thus be used as a quantitative indicator of methylation status across multiple copies of a locus. This is of particular use when it is desirable to compare the methylation status of a sequence in a sample to a threshold or reference value.

As used herein, “methylation frequency” or “methylation percent (%)” refer to the number of instances in which a molecule or locus is methylated relative to the number of instances the molecule or locus is unmethylated.

As such, the methylation state describes the state of methylation of a nucleic acid (e.g., a genomic sequence). In addition, the methylation state refers to the characteristics of a nucleic acid segment at a particular genomic locus relevant to methylation. Such characteristics include, but are not limited to, whether any of the cytosine (C) residues within this DNA sequence are methylated, the location of methylated C residue(s), the frequency or percentage of methylated C throughout any particular region of a nucleic acid, and allelic differences in methylation due to, e.g., difference in the origin of the alleles. The terms “methylation state”, “methylation profile”, and “methylation status” also refer to the relative concentration, absolute concentration, or pattern of methylated C or unmethylated C throughout any particular region of a nucleic acid in a biological sample. For example, if the cytosine (C) residue(s) within a nucleic acid sequence are methylated it may be referred to as “hypermethylated” or having “increased methylation”, whereas if the cytosine (C) residue(s) within a DNA sequence are not methylated it may be referred to as “hypomethylated” or having “decreased methylation”. Likewise, if the cytosine (C) residue(s) within a nucleic acid sequence are methylated as compared to another nucleic acid sequence (e.g., from a different region or from a different individual, etc.) that sequence is considered hypermethylated or having increased methylation compared to the other nucleic acid sequence. Alternatively, if the cytosine (C) residue(s) within a DNA sequence are not methylated as compared to another nucleic acid sequence (e.g., from a different region or from a different individual, etc.) that sequence is considered hypomethylated or having decreased methylation compared to the other nucleic acid sequence. Additionally, the term “methylation pattern” as used herein refers to the collective sites of methylated and unmethylated nucleotides over a region of a nucleic acid. Two nucleic acids may have the same or similar methylation frequency or methylation percent but have different methylation patterns when the number of methylated and unmethylated nucleotides are the same or similar throughout the region but the locations of methylated and unmethylated nucleotides are different. Sequences are said to be “differentially methylated” or as having a “difference in methylation” or having a “different methylation state” when they differ in the extent (e.g., one has increased or decreased methylation relative to the other), frequency, or pattern of methylation. The term “differential methylation” refers to a difference in the level or pattern of nucleic acid methylation in a cancer positive sample as compared with the level or pattern of nucleic acid methylation in a cancer negative sample. It may also refer to the difference in levels or patterns between patients that have recurrence of cancer after surgery versus patients who not have recurrence. Differential methylation and specific levels or patterns of DNA methylation are prognostic and predictive biomarkers, e.g., once the correct cut-off or predictive characteristics have been defined.

Methylation state frequency can be used to describe a population of individuals or a sample from a single individual. For example, a nucleotide locus having a methylation state frequency of 50% is methylated in 50% of instances and unmethylated in 50% of instances. Such a frequency can be used, for example, to describe the degree to which a nucleotide locus or nucleic acid region is methylated in a population of individuals or a collection of nucleic acids. Thus, when methylation in a first population or pool of nucleic acid molecules is different from methylation in a second population or pool of nucleic acid molecules, the methylation state frequency of the first population or pool will be different from the methylation state frequency of the second population or pool. Such a frequency also can be used, for example, to describe the degree to which a nucleotide locus or nucleic acid region is methylated in a single individual. For example, such a frequency can be used to describe the degree to which a group of cells from a tissue sample are methylated or unmethylated at a nucleotide locus or nucleic acid region.

As used herein a “nucleotide locus” refers to the location of a nucleotide in a nucleic acid molecule. A nucleotide locus of a methylated nucleotide refers to the location of a methylated nucleotide in a nucleic acid molecule.

Typically, methylation of human DNA occurs on a dinucleotide sequence including an adjacent guanine and cytosine where the cytosine is located 5′ of the guanine (also termed CpG dinucleotide sequences). Most cytosines within the CpG dinucleotides are methylated in the human genome, however some remain unmethylated in specific CpG dinucleotide rich genomic regions, known as CpG islands (see, e.g, Antequera et al. (1990) Cell 62: 503-514).

As used herein, a “CpG island” refers to a G:C-rich region of genomic DNA containing an increased number of CpG dinucleotides relative to total genomic DNA. A CpG island can be at least 100, 200, or more base pairs in length, where the G:C content of the region is at least 50% and the ratio of observed CpG frequency over expected frequency is 0.6; in some instances, a CpG island can be at least 500 base pairs in length, where the G:C content of the region is at least 55%) and the ratio of observed CpG frequency over expected frequency is 0.65. The observed CpG frequency over expected frequency can be calculated according to the method provided in Gardiner-Garden et al (1987) J. Mol. Biol. 196: 261-281. For example, the observed CpG frequency over expected frequency can be calculated according to the formula R=(A×B)/(C×D), where R is the ratio of observed CpG frequency over expected frequency, A is the number of CpG dinucleotides in an analyzed sequence, B is the total number of nucleotides in the analyzed sequence, C is the total number of C nucleotides in the analyzed sequence, and D is the total number of G nucleotides in the analyzed sequence. Methylation state is typically determined in CpG islands, e.g., at promoter regions. It will be appreciated though that other sequences in the human genome are prone to DNA methylation such as CpA and CpT (see Ramsahoye (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 5237-5242; Salmon and Kaye (1970) Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 204: 340-351; Grafstrom (1985) Nucleic Acids Res. 13: 2827-2842; Nyce (1986) Nucleic Acids Res. 14: 4353-4367; Woodcock (1987) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 145: 888-894).

As used herein, a reagent that modifies a nucleotide of the nucleic acid molecule as a function of the methylation state of the nucleic acid molecule, or a methylation-specific reagent, refers to a compound or composition or other agent that can change the nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid molecule in a manner that reflects the methylation state of the nucleic acid molecule. Methods of treating a nucleic acid molecule with such a reagent can include contacting the nucleic acid molecule with the reagent, coupled with additional steps, if desired, to accomplish the desired change of nucleotide sequence. Such a change in the nucleic acid molecule's nucleotide sequence can result in a nucleic acid molecule in which each methylated nucleotide is modified to a different nucleotide. Such a change in the nucleic acid nucleotide sequence can result in a nucleic acid molecule in which each unmethylated nucleotide is modified to a different nucleotide. Such a change in the nucleic acid nucleotide sequence can result in a nucleic acid molecule in which each of a selected nucleotide which is unmethylated (e.g., each unmethylated cytosine) is modified to a different nucleotide. Use of such a reagent to change the nucleic acid nucleotide sequence can result in a nucleic acid molecule in which each nucleotide that is a methylated nucleotide (e.g., each methylated cytosine) is modified to a different nucleotide. As used herein, use of a reagent that modifies a selected nucleotide refers to a reagent that modifies one nucleotide of the four typically occurring nucleotides in a nucleic acid molecule (C, G, T, and A for DNA and C, G, U, and A for RNA), such that the reagent modifies the one nucleotide without modifying the other three nucleotides. In one exemplary embodiment, such a reagent modifies an unmethylated selected nucleotide to produce a different nucleotide. In another exemplary embodiment, such a reagent can deaminate unmethylated cytosine nucleotides. An exemplary reagent is bisulfite.

As used herein, the term “bisulfite reagent” refers to a reagent comprising in some embodiments bisulfite, disulfite, hydrogen sulfite, or combinations thereof to distinguish between methylated and unmethylated cytidines, e.g., in CpG dinucleotide sequences.

The term “methylation assay” refers to any assay for determining the methylation state of one or more CpG dinucleotide sequences within a sequence of a nucleic acid.

The term “MS AP-PCR” (Methylation-Sensitive Arbitrarily-Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction) refers to the art-recognized technology that allows for a global scan of the genome using CG-rich primers to focus on the regions most likely to contain CpG dinucleotides, and described by Gonzalgo et al. (1997) Cancer Research 57: 594-599.

The term “MethyLight™” refers to the art-recognized fluorescence-based real-time PCR technique described by Eads et al. (1999) Cancer Res. 59: 2302-2306.

The term “HeavyMethyl™” refers to an assay wherein methylation specific blocking probes (also referred to herein as blockers) covering CpG positions between, or covered by, the amplification primers enable methylation-specific selective amplification of a nucleic acid sample.

The term “HeavyMethyl™ MethyLight™” assay refers to a HeavyMethyl™ MethyLight™ assay, which is a variation of the MethyLight™ assay, wherein the MethyLight™ assay is combined with methylation specific blocking probes covering CpG positions between the amplification primers.

The term “Ms-SNuPE” (Methylation-sensitive Single Nucleotide Primer Extension) refers to the art-recognized assay described by Gonzalgo & Jones (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 2529-2531.

The term “MSP” (Methylation-specific PCR) refers to the art-recognized methylation assay described by Herman et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 9821-9826, and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,146.

The term “COBRA” (Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis) refers to the art-recognized methylation assay described by Xiong & Laird (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 2532-2534.

The term “MCA” (Methylated CpG Island Amplification) refers to the methylation assay described by Toyota et al. (1999) Cancer Res. 59: 2307-12, and in WO 00/26401A1.

As used herein, a “selected nucleotide” refers to one nucleotide of the four typically occurring nucleotides in a nucleic acid molecule (C, G, T, and A for DNA and C, G, U, and A for RNA), and can include methylated derivatives of the typically occurring nucleotides (e.g., when C is the selected nucleotide, both methylated and unmethylated C are included within the meaning of a selected nucleotide), whereas a methylated selected nucleotide refers specifically to a methylated typically occurring nucleotide and an unmethylated selected nucleotides refers specifically to an unmethylated typically occurring nucleotide.

The terms “methylation-specific restriction enzyme” or “methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme” refers to an enzyme that selectively digests a nucleic acid dependent on the methylation state of its recognition site. In the case of a restriction enzyme that specifically cuts if the recognition site is not methylated or is hemimethylated, the cut will not take place or will take place with a significantly reduced efficiency if the recognition site is methylated. In the case of a restriction enzyme that specifically cuts if the recognition site is methylated, the cut will not take place or will take place with a significantly reduced efficiency if the recognition site is not methylated. Preferred are methylation-specific restriction enzymes, the recognition sequence of which contains a CG dinucleotide (for instance a recognition sequence such as CGCG or CCCGGG). Further preferred for some embodiments are restriction enzymes that do not cut if the cytosine in this dinucleotide is methylated at the carbon atom C5.

The term “AUC” as used herein is an abbreviation for the “area under a curve”. In particular it refers to the area under a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. The ROC curve is a plot of the true positive rate against the false positive rate for the different possible cut points of a diagnostic test. It shows the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity depending on the selected cut point (any increase in sensitivity will be accompanied by a decrease in specificity). The area under an ROC curve (AUC) is a measure for the accuracy of a diagnostic test (the larger the area the better; the optimum is 1; a random test would have a ROC curve lying on the diagonal with an area of 0.5; for reference: J. P. Egan. (1975) Signal Detection Theory and ROC Analysis, Academic Press, New York).

The term “marker”, as used herein, refers to a substance (e.g., a nucleic acid or a region of a nucleic acid) that is able to diagnose a cancer by distinguishing cancerous cells from normal cells, e.g., based its methylation state.

The term “sample” is used in its broadest sense. In one sense it can refer to an animal cell or tissue. In another sense, it is meant to include a specimen or culture obtained from any source, as well as biological and environmental samples. Biological samples may be obtained from plants or animals (including humans) and encompass fluids, solids, tissues, and gases. Environmental samples include environmental material such as surface matter, soil, water, and industrial samples. These examples are not to be construed as limiting the sample types applicable to the present invention.

As used herein, the terms “patient” or “subject” refer to organisms to be subject to various tests provided by the technology. The term “subject” includes animals, preferably mammals, including humans. In a preferred embodiment, the subject is a primate. In an even more preferred embodiment, the subject is a human.

As used herein, the term “kit” refers to any delivery system for delivering materials. In the context of reaction assays, such delivery systems include systems that allow for the storage, transport, or delivery of reaction reagents (e.g., oligonucleotides, enzymes, etc. in the appropriate containers) and/or supporting materials (e.g., buffers, written instructions for performing the assay etc.) from one location to another. For example, kits include one or more enclosures (e.g., boxes) containing the relevant reaction reagents and/or supporting materials. As used herein, the term “fragmented kit” refers to delivery systems comprising two or more separate containers that each contain a subportion of the total kit components. The containers may be delivered to the intended recipient together or separately. For example, a first container may contain an enzyme for use in an assay, while a second container contains oligonucleotides. The term “fragmented kit” is intended to encompass kits containing Analyte specific reagents (ASR's) regulated under section 520(e) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but are not limited thereto. Indeed, any delivery system comprising two or more separate containers that each contains a subportion of the total kit components are included in the term “fragmented kit.” In contrast, a “combined kit” refers to a delivery system containing all of the components of a reaction assay in a single container (e.g., in a single box housing each of the desired components). The term “kit” includes both fragmented and combined kits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Provided herein is technology relating to methods, compositions, and related uses for detecting CCA. As the technology is described herein, the section headings used are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter in any way.

In this detailed description of the various embodiments, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that these various embodiments may be practiced with or without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form. Furthermore, one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the specific sequences in which methods are presented and performed are illustrative and it is contemplated that the sequences can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the various embodiments disclosed herein.

All literature and similar materials cited in this application, including but not limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, books, treatises, and internet web pages are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety for any purpose. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the various embodiments described herein belongs. When definitions of terms in incorporated references appear to differ from the definitions provided in the present teachings, the definition provided in the present teachings shall control.

Provided herein is technology for cholangiocarinoma (CCA) screening markers that provide a high signal-to-noise ratio and a low background level when detected from samples taken from a subject. Markers (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2) were identified in a case-control study by comparing the methylation state of DNA markers from intrahepatic and extrahepatic tissue samples of subjects with CCA to the methylation state of the same DNA markers from control subjects (e.g., normal intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic tissue) (see, Examples 1 and 2).

In addition, the technology provides various panels of markers, e.g., in some embodiments the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation that is HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1 and chr7.25896389-25896501, and that comprises the marker (see, Example 1).

In some embodiments the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation that is CYP26C1, EMX1, HIST1H1D, HOXA1, KLHDC7B, LBX2, LOC645323, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, chr7.25896389, PNMAL2, PRKCB, SP9, ST8SIA1, TRIM36, and ZNF781, and that comprises the marker (see, Example 1).

In some embodiments the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation that is CYP26C1 and LOC645323, and that comprises the marker (see, Example 1).

In some embodiments the marker comprises a chromosomal region having an annotation that is EMX1, HOXA1, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2, and that comprises the marker (see, Example 1).

Although the disclosure herein refers to certain illustrated embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not by way of limitation.

In particular aspects, the present technology provides compositions and methods for identifying, determining, and/or classifying CCA. The methods comprise determining the methylation status of at least one methylation marker in a biological sample isolated from a subject, wherein a change in the methylation state of the marker is indicative of the presence, class, or site of CCA. Particular embodiments relate to markers comprising a differentially methylated region (a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)) that are used for diagnosis (e.g., screening) of CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA).

In addition to embodiments wherein the methylation analysis of at least one marker, a region of a marker, or a base of a marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) provided herein is analyzed, the technology also provides panels of such markers with utility for the detection of CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA).

Some embodiments of the technology are based upon the analysis of the CpG methylation status of at least one marker, region of a marker, or base of a marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2).

In some embodiments, the present technology provides for the use of the bisulfite technique in combination with one or more methylation assays to determine the methylation status of CpG dinucleotide sequences within at least one marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2). Genomic CpG dinucleotides can be methylated or unmethylated (alternatively known as up- and down-methylated respectively). However the methods of the present invention are suitable for the analysis of biological samples of a heterogeneous nature, e.g., a low concentration of tumor cells, or biological materials therefrom, within a background of a remote sample (e.g., blood, organ effluent, or stool). Accordingly, when analyzing the methylation status of a CpG position within such a sample one may use a quantitative assay for determining the level (e.g., percent, fraction, ratio, proportion, or degree) of methylation at a particular CpG position.

According to the present technology, determination of the methylation status of CpG dinucleotide sequences in markers comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) has utility both in the diagnosis and characterization of CCA (e.g., intra-hepatic CCA or extra-hepatic CCA).

Methods for Assaying Methylation State

The most frequently used method for analyzing a nucleic acid for the presence of 5-methylcytosine is based upon the bisulfite method described by Frommer, et al. for the detection of 5-methylcytosines in DNA (Frommer et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 1827-31 explicitly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes) or variations thereof. The bisulfite method of mapping 5-methylcytosines is based on the observation that cytosine, but not 5-methylcytosine, reacts with hydrogen sulfite ion (also known as bisulfite). The reaction is usually performed according to the following steps: first, cytosine reacts with hydrogen sulfite to form a sulfonated cytosine. Next, spontaneous deamination of the sulfonated reaction intermediate results in a sulfonated uracil. Finally, the sulfonated uricil is desulfonated under alkaline conditions to form uracil. Detection is possible because uracil forms base pairs with adenine (thus behaving like thymine), whereas 5-methylcytosine base pairs with guanine (thus behaving like cytosine). This makes the discrimination of methylated cytosines from non-methylated cytosines possible by, e.g., bisulfite genomic sequencing (Grigg G, & Clark S, Bioessays (1994) 16: 431-36; Grigg G, DNA Seq. (1996) 6: 189-98) or methylation-specific PCR (MSP) as is disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,146.

Some conventional technologies are related to methods comprising enclosing the DNA to be analyzed in an agarose matrix, thereby preventing the diffusion and renaturation of the DNA (bisulfite only reacts with single-stranded DNA), and replacing precipitation and purification steps with a fast dialysis (Olek A, et al. (1996) “A modified and improved method for bisulfite based cytosine methylation analysis” Nucleic Acids Res. 24: 5064-6). It is thus possible to analyze individual cells for methylation status, illustrating the utility and sensitivity of the method. An overview of conventional methods for detecting 5-methylcytosine is provided by Rein, T., et al. (1998) Nucleic Acids Res. 26: 2255.

The bisulfite technique typically involves amplifying short, specific fragments of a known nucleic acid subsequent to a bisulfite treatment, then either assaying the product by sequencing (Olek & Walter (1997) Nat. Genet. 17: 275-6) or a primer extension reaction (Gonzalgo & Jones (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 2529-31; WO 95/00669; U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,594) to analyze individual cytosine positions. Some methods use enzymatic digestion (Xiong & Laird (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 2532-4). Detection by hybridization has also been described in the art (Olek et al., WO 99/28498). Additionally, use of the bisulfite technique for methylation detection with respect to individual genes has been described (Grigg & Clark (1994) Bioessays 16: 431-6,; Zeschnigk et al. (1997) Hum Mol Genet. 6: 387-95; Feil et al. (1994) Nucleic Acids Res. 22: 695; Martin et al. (1995) Gene 157: 261-4; WO 9746705; WO 9515373).

Various methylation assay procedures are known in the art and can be used in conjunction with bisulfite treatment according to the present technology. These assays allow for determination of the methylation state of one or a plurality of CpG dinucleotides (e.g., CpG islands) within a nucleic acid sequence. Such assays involve, among other techniques, sequencing of bisulfite-treated nucleic acid, PCR (for sequence-specific amplification), Southern blot analysis, and use of methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes.

For example, genomic sequencing has been simplified for analysis of methylation patterns and 5-methylcytosine distributions by using bisulfite treatment (Frommer et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 1827-1831). Additionally, restriction enzyme digestion of PCR products amplified from bisulfite-converted DNA finds use in assessing methylation state, e.g., as described by Sadri & Hornsby (1997) Nucl. Acids Res. 24: 5058-5059 or as embodied in the method known as COBRA (Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis) (Xiong & Laird (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 2532-2534).

COBRA™ analysis is a quantitative methylation assay useful for determining DNA methylation levels at specific loci in small amounts of genomic DNA (Xiong & Laird, Nucleic Acids Res. 25:2532-2534, 1997). Briefly, restriction enzyme digestion is used to reveal methylation-dependent sequence differences in PCR products of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA. Methylation-dependent sequence differences are first introduced into the genomic DNA by standard bisulfite treatment according to the procedure described by Frommer et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:1827-1831, 1992). PCR amplification of the bisulfite converted DNA is then performed using primers specific for the CpG islands of interest, followed by restriction endonuclease digestion, gel electrophoresis, and detection using specific, labeled hybridization probes. Methylation levels in the original DNA sample are represented by the relative amounts of digested and undigested PCR product in a linearly quantitative fashion across a wide spectrum of DNA methylation levels. In addition, this technique can be reliably applied to DNA obtained from microdissected paraffin-embedded tissue samples.

Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical COBRA™-based kit) for COBRA™ analysis may include, but are not limited to: PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence , CpG island, etc.); restriction enzyme and appropriate buffer; gene-hybridization oligonucleotide; control hybridization oligonucleotide; kinase labeling kit for oligonucleotide probe; and labeled nucleotides. Additionally, bisulfite conversion reagents may include: DNA denaturation buffer; sulfonation buffer; DNA recovery reagents or kits (e.g., precipitation, ultrafiltration, affinity column); desulfonation buffer; and DNA recovery components.

Preferably, assays such as “MethyLight™” (a fluorescence-based real-time PCR technique) (Eads et al., Cancer Res. 59:2302-2306, 1999), Ms-SNuPE™ (Methylation-sensitive Single Nucleotide Primer Extension) reactions (Gonzalgo & Jones, Nucleic Acids Res. 25:2529-2531, 1997), methylation-specific PCR (“MSP”; Herman et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:9821-9826, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,146), and methylated CpG island amplification (“MCA”; Toyota et al., Cancer Res. 59:2307-12, 1999) are used alone or in combination with one or more of these methods.

The “HeavyMethylυ” assay, technique is a quantitative method for assessing methylation differences based on methylation-specific amplification of bisulfite-treated DNA. Methylation-specific blocking probes (“blockers”) covering CpG positions between, or covered by, the amplification primers enable methylation-specific selective amplification of a nucleic acid sample.

The term “HeavyMethyl™ MethyLight™” assay refers to a HeavyMethyl™ MethyLight™ assay, which is a variation of the MethyLight™ assay, wherein the MethyLight™ assay is combined with methylation specific blocking probes covering CpG positions between the amplification primers. The HeavyMethyl™ assay may also be used in combination with methylation specific amplification primers.

Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical MethyLight™-based kit) for HeavyMethyl™ analysis may include, but are not limited to: PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence , CpG island, or bisulfite treated DNA sequence or CpG island, etc.); blocking oligonucleotides; optimized PCR buffers and deoxynucleotides; and Taq polymerase.

MSP (methylation-specific PCR) allows for assessing the methylation status of virtually any group of CpG sites within a CpG island, independent of the use of methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes (Herman et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:9821-9826, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,146). Briefly, DNA is modified by sodium bisulfite, which converts unmethylated, but not methylated cytosines, to uracil, and the products are subsequently mplified with primers specific for methylated versus unmethylated DNA. MSP requires only small quantities of DNA, is sensitive to 0.1% methylated alleles of a given CpG island locus, and can be performed on DNA extracted from paraffin-embedded samples. Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical MSP-based kit) for MSP analysis may include, but are not limited to: methylated and unmethylated PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence , CpG island, etc.); optimized PCR buffers and deoxynucleotides, and specific probes.

The MethyLight™ assay is a high-throughput quantitative methylation assay that utilizes fluorescence-based real-time PCR (e.g., TaqMan®) that requires no further manipulations after the PCR step (Eads et al., Cancer Res. 59:2302-2306, 1999). Briefly, the MethyLight™ process begins with a mixed sample of genomic DNA that is converted, in a sodium bisulfite reaction, to a mixed pool of methylation-dependent sequence differences according to standard procedures (the bisulfite process converts unmethylated cytosine residues to uracil). Fluorescence-based PCR is then performed in a “biased” reaction, e.g., with PCR primers that overlap known CpG dinucleotides. Sequence discrimination occurs both at the level of the amplification process and at the level of the fluorescence detection process.

The MethyLight™ assay is used as a quantitative test for methylation patterns in a nucleic acid, e.g., a genomic DNA sample, wherein sequence discrimination occurs at the level of probe hybridization. In a quantitative version, the PCR reaction provides for a methylation specific amplification in the presence of a fluorescent probe that overlaps a particular putative methylation site. An unbiased control for the amount of input DNA is provided by a reaction in which neither the primers, nor the probe, overlie any CpG dinucleotides. Alternatively, a qualitative test for genomic methylation is achieved by probing the biased PCR pool with either control oligonucleotides that do not cover known methylation sites (e.g., a fluorescence-based version of the HeavyMethyl™ and MSP techniques) or with oligonucleotides covering potential methylation sites.

The MethyLight™ process is used with any suitable probe (e.g. a “TaqMan®” probe, a Lightcycler® probe, etc.) For example, in some applications double-stranded genomic DNA is treated with sodium bisulfite and subjected to one of two sets of PCR reactions using TaqMan® probes, e.g., with MSP primers and/or HeavyMethyl blocker oligonucleotides and a TaqMan® probe. The TaqMan® probe is dual-labeled with fluorescent “reporter” and “quencher” molecules and is designed to be specific for a relatively high GC content region so that it melts at about a 10° C. higher temperature in the PCR cycle than the forward or reverse primers. This allows the TaqMan® probe to remain fully hybridized during the PCR annealing/extension step. As the Taq polymerase enzymatically synthesizes a new strand during PCR, it will eventually reach the annealed TaqMan® probe. The Taq polymerase 5′ to 3′ endonuclease activity will then displace the TaqMan® probe by digesting it to release the fluorescent reporter molecule for quantitative detection of its now unquenched signal using a real-time fluorescent detection system.

Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical MethyLight™-based kit) for MethyLight™ analysis may include, but are not limited to: PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence, CpG island, etc.); TaqMan® or Lightcycler® probes; optimized PCR buffers and deoxynucleotides; and Taq polymerase.

The QM™ (quantitative methylation) assay is an alternative quantitative test for methylation patterns in genomic DNA samples, wherein sequence discrimination occurs at the level of probe hybridization. In this quantitative version, the PCR reaction provides for unbiased amplification in the presence of a fluorescent probe that overlaps a particular putative methylation site. An unbiased control for the amount of input DNA is provided by a reaction in which neither the primers, nor the probe, overlie any CpG dinucleotides. Alternatively, a qualitative test for genomic methylation is achieved by probing the biased PCR pool with either control oligonucleotides that do not cover known methylation sites (a fluorescence-based version of the HeavyMethyl™ and MSP techniques) or with oligonucleotides covering potential methylation sites.

The QM™ process can by used with any suitable probe, e.g., “TaqMan®” probes, Lightcycler® probes, in the amplification process. For example, double-stranded genomic DNA is treated with sodium bisulfite and subjected to unbiased primers and the TaqMan® probe. The TaqMan® probe is dual-labeled with fluorescent “reporter” and “quencher” molecules, and is designed to be specific for a relatively high GC content region so that it melts out at about a 10° C. higher temperature in the PCR cycle than the forward or reverse primers. This allows the TaqMan® probe to remain fully hybridized during the PCR annealing/extension step. As the Taq polymerase enzymatically synthesizes a new strand during PCR, it will eventually reach the annealed TaqMan® probe. The Taq polymerase 5′ to 3′ endonuclease activity will then displace the TaqMan® probe by digesting it to release the fluorescent reporter molecule for quantitative detection of its now unquenched signal using a real-time fluorescent detection system. Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical QM™-based kit) for QM™ analysis may include, but are not limited to: PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence, CpG island, etc.); TaqMan® or Lightcycler® probes; optimized PCR buffers and deoxynucleotides; and Taq polymerase.

The Ms-SNuPE™ technique is a quantitative method for assessing methylation differences at specific CpG sites based on bisulfite treatment of DNA, followed by single-nucleotide primer extension (Gonzalgo & Jones, Nucleic Acids Res. 25:2529-2531, 1997). Briefly, genomic DNA is reacted with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosine to uracil while leaving 5-methylcytosine unchanged. Amplification of the desired target sequence is then performed using PCR primers specific for bisulfite-converted DNA, and the resulting product is isolated and used as a template for methylation analysis at the CpG site of interest. Small amounts of DNA can be analyzed (e.g., microdissected pathology sections) and it avoids utilization of restriction enzymes for determining the methylation status at CpG sites.

Typical reagents (e.g., as might be found in a typical Ms-SNuPE™-based kit) for Ms-SNuPE™ analysis may include, but are not limited to: PCR primers for specific loci (e.g., specific genes, markers, DMR, regions of genes, regions of markers, bisulfite treated DNA sequence, CpG island, etc.); optimized PCR buffers and deoxynucleotides; gel extraction kit; positive control primers; Ms-SNuPE™ primers for specific loci; reaction buffer (for the Ms-SNuPE reaction); and labeled nucleotides. Additionally, bisulfite conversion reagents may include: DNA denaturation buffer; sulfonation buffer; DNA recovery reagents or kit (e.g., precipitation, ultrafiltration, affinity column); desulfonation buffer; and DNA recovery components.

Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) begins with bisulfite treatment of nucleic acid to convert all unmethylated cytosines to uracil, followed by restriction enzyme digestion (e.g., by an enzyme that recognizes a site including a CG sequence such as Mspl) and complete sequencing of fragments after coupling to an adapter ligand. The choice of restriction enzyme enriches the fragments for CpG dense regions, reducing the number of redundant sequences that may map to multiple gene positions during analysis. As such, RRBS reduces the complexity of the nucleic acid sample by selecting a subset (e.g., by size selection using preparative gel electrophoresis) of restriction fragments for sequencing. As opposed to whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, every fragment produced by the restriction enzyme digestion contains DNA methylation information for at least one CpG dinucleotide. As such, RRBS enriches the sample for promoters, CpG islands, and other genomic features with a high frequency of restriction enzyme cut sites in these regions and thus provides an assay to assess the methylation state of one or more genomic loci.

A typical protocol for RRBS comprises the steps of digesting a nucleic acid sample with a restriction enzyme such as Mspl, filling in overhangs and A-tailing, ligating adaptors, bisulfite conversion, and PCR. See, e.g., et al. (2005) “Genome-scale DNA methylation mapping of clinical samples at single-nucleotide resolution” Nat Methods 7: 133-6; Meissner et al. (2005) “Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing for comparative high-resolution DNA methylation analysis” Nucleic Acids Res. 33: 5868-77.

In some embodiments, a quantitative allele-specific real-time target and signal amplification (QUARTS) assay is used to evaluate methylation state. Three reactions sequentially occur in each QUARTS assay, including amplification (reaction 1) and target probe cleavage (reaction 2) in the primary reaction; and FRET cleavage and fluorescent signal generation (reaction 3) in the secondary reaction. When target nucleic acid is amplified with specific primers, a specific detection probe with a flap sequence loosely binds to the amplicon. The presence of the specific invasive oligonucleotide at the target binding site causes cleavase to release the flap sequence by cutting between the detection probe and the flap sequence. The flap sequence is complementary to a nonhairpin portion of a corresponding FRET cassette. Accordingly, the flap sequence functions as an invasive oligonucleotide on the FRET cassette and effects a cleavage between the FRET cassette fluorophore and a quencher, which produces a fluorescent signal. The cleavage reaction can cut multiple probes per target and thus release multiple fluorophore per flap, providing exponential signal amplification. QuARTS can detect multiple targets in a single reaction well by using FRET cassettes with different dyes. See, e.g., in Zou et al. (2010) “Sensitive quantification of methylated markers with a novel methylation specific technology” Clin Chem 56: A199; U.S. Pat. No. 8,361,720; U.S. patent application. Ser. Nos. 12/946,745, 8,715,937, and 13/594,674.

The term “bisulfite reagent” refers to a reagent comprising bisulfite, disulfite, hydrogen sulfite, or combinations thereof, useful as disclosed herein to distinguish between methylated and unmethylated CpG dinucleotide sequences. Methods of said treatment are known in the art (e.g., PCT/EP2004/011715, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). It is preferred that the bisulfite treatment is conducted in the presence of denaturing solvents such as but not limited to n-alkylenglycol or diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DME), or in the presence of dioxane or dioxane derivatives. In some embodiments the denaturing solvents are used in concentrations between 1% and 35% (v/v). In some embodiments, the bisulfite reaction is carried out in the presence of scavengers such as but not limited to chromane derivatives, e.g., 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8,-tetramethylchromane 2-carboxylic acid or trihydroxybenzone acid and derivates thereof, e.g., Gallic acid (see: PCT/EP2004/011715, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). The bisulfite conversion is preferably carried out at a reaction temperature between 30° C. and 70° C., whereby the temperature is increased to over 85° C. for short times during the reaction (see: PCT/EP2004/011715, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety). The bisulfite treated DNA is preferably purified prior to the quantification. This may be conducted by any means known in the art, such as but not limited to ultrafiltration, e.g., by means of Microcon™ columns (manufactured by Millipore™). The purification is carried out according to a modified manufacturer's protocol (see, e.g., PCT/EP2004/011715, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, fragments of the treated DNA are amplified using sets of primer oligonucleotides according to the present invention and an amplification enzyme. The amplification of several DNA segments can be carried out simultaneously in one and the same reaction vessel. Typically, the amplification is carried out using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplicons are typically 100 to 2000 base pairs in length.

In another embodiment of the method, the methylation status of CpG positions within or near a marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) may be detected by use of methylation-specific primer oligonucleotides. This technique (MSP) has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,171 to Herman. The use of methylation status specific primers for the amplification of bisulfite treated DNA allows the differentiation between methylated and unmethylated nucleic acids. MSP primer pairs contain at least one primer that hybridizes to a bisulfite treated CpG dinucleotide. Therefore, the sequence of said primers comprises at least one CpG dinucleotide. MSP primers specific for non-methylated DNA contain a “T” at the position of the C position in the CpG.

The fragments obtained by means of the amplification can carry a directly or indirectly detectable label. In some embodiments, the labels are fluorescent labels, radionuclides, or detachable molecule fragments having a typical mass that can be detected in a mass spectrometer. Where said labels are mass labels, some embodiments provide that the labeled amplicons have a single positive or negative net charge, allowing for better delectability in the mass spectrometer. The detection may be carried out and visualized by means of, e.g., matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI) or using electron spray mass spectrometry (ESI).

Methods for isolating DNA suitable for these assay technologies are known in the art. In particular, some embodiments comprise isolation of nucleic acids as described in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 13/470,251 (“Isolation of Nucleic Acids”), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Methods

In some embodiments the technology, methods are provided that comprise the following steps:

-   -   a) obtaining a sample from a human subject;     -   b) assaying a methylation state of one or more markers in the         sample, wherein the marker comprises a base in a chromosomal         region having an annotation selected from the following groups         of markers: HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781,         ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1,         PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437,         PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2;     -   c) comparing the methylation state of the assayed marker to the         methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does         not have a neoplasm.

In some embodiments the technology, methods are provided that comprise the following steps:

-   -   1) assaying a methylation state of a marker in a sample obtained         from a subject, wherein the marker comprises a base in a         chromosomal region having an annotation selected from the         following groups of markers: HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1,         LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764,         KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2,         chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2; and     -   2) identifying the subject as having a neoplasm when the         methylation state of the marker is different than a methylation         state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a         neoplasm (e.g., afforded with a sensitivity of greater than or         equal to 80% and a specificity of greater than or equal to 80%).

Preferably, the sensitivity is from about 70% to about 100%, or from about 80% to about 90%, or from about 80% to about 85%. Preferably, the specificity is from about 70% to about 100%, or from about 80% to about 90%, or from about 80% to about 85%.

In some embodiments, the neoplasm is:

-   -   either intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma or extra-hepatic         cholangiocarcinoma if the methylation state of one or more of         the following markers is different than a methylation state of         the respective marker assayed in a subject that does not have         either intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma or extra-hepatic         cholangiocarcinoma: HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323,         ZNF781, ST8SIA1 and chr7.25896389-25896501;     -   intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma if the methylation state of one         or more of the following markers is different than a methylation         state of the respective marker assayed in a subject that does         not have intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma: CYP26C1, EMX1,         HIST1H1D, HOXA1, KLHDC7B, LBX2, LOC645323, chr5.77268600,         chr6.28175437, chr7.25896389, PNMAL2, PRKCB, SP9, ST8SIA1,         TRIM36, and ZNF781;     -   extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma if the methylation state of the         following markers is different than a methylation state of the         respective marker assayed in a subject that does not have         extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma: CYP26C1 and LOC645323; and/or     -   extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma if the methylation state of one         or more of the following markers is different than a methylation         state of the respective marker assayed in a subject that does         not have extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma: EMX1, HOXA1,         VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2.

Genomic DNA may be isolated by any means, including the use of commercially available kits. Briefly, wherein the DNA of interest is encapsulated in by a cellular membrane the biological sample must be disrupted and lysed by enzymatic, chemical or mechanical means. The DNA solution may then be cleared of proteins and other contaminants, e.g., by digestion with proteinase K. The genomic DNA is then recovered from the solution. This may be carried out by means of a variety of methods including salting out, organic extraction, or binding of the DNA to a solid phase support. The choice of method will be affected by several factors including time, expense, and required quantity of DNA. All clinical sample types comprising neoplastic matter or pre-neoplastic matter are suitable for use in the present method, e.g., cell lines, histological slides, biopsies, paraffin-embedded tissue, body fluids, stool, colonic effluent, urine, blood plasma, blood serum, whole blood, isolated blood cells, cells isolated from the blood, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the clinical sample type is intra-hepatic CCA tissue or extra-hepatic CCA tissue.

The technology is not limited in the methods used to prepare the samples and provide a nucleic acid for testing. For example, in some embodiments, a DNA is isolated from a stool sample or from blood or from a plasma sample using direct gene capture, e.g., as detailed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/485386 or by a related method.

The genomic DNA sample is then treated with at least one reagent, or series of reagents, that distinguishes between methylated and non-methylated CpG dinucleotides within at least one marker a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2).

In some embodiments, the reagent converts cytosine bases which are unmethylated at the 5′-position to uracil, thymine, or another base which is dissimilar to cytosine in terms of hybridization behavior. However in some embodiments, the reagent may be a methylation sensitive restriction enzyme.

In some embodiments, the genomic DNA sample is treated in such a manner that cytosine bases that are unmethylated at the 5′ position are converted to uracil, thymine, or another base that is dissimilar to cytosine in terms of hybridization behavior. In some embodiments, this treatment is carried out with bisulfate (hydrogen sulfite, disulfite) followed by alkaline hydrolysis.

The treated nucleic acid is then analyzed to determine the methylation state of the target gene sequences (at least one gene, genomic sequence, or nucleotide from a marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2). The method of analysis may be selected from those known in the art, including those listed herein, e.g., QUARTS and MSP as described herein.

Aberrant methylation, more specifically hypermethylation of a marker comprising a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) is associated with CCA.

The technology relates to the analysis of any sample associated with CCA. For example, in some embodiments the sample comprises a tissue and/or biological fluid obtained from a patient. In some embodiments, the sample comprises a secretion. In some embodiments, the sample comprises blood, serum, plasma, gastric secretions, intrahepatic tissue samples, extrahepatic tissue samples, a gastrointestinal biopsy sample, microdissected cells from a gastrointestinal biopsy, gastrointestinal cells sloughed into the gastrointestinal lumen, and/or gastrointestinal cells recovered from stool. In some embodiments, the subject is human. These samples may originate from the upper gastrointestinal tract, the lower gastrointestinal tract, or comprise cells, tissues, and/or secretions from both the upper gastrointestinal tract and the lower gastrointestinal tract. The sample may include cells, secretions, or tissues from the liver, bile ducts, pancreas, stomach, colon, rectum, esophagus, small intestine, appendix, duodenum, polyps, gall bladder, anus, and/or peritoneum. In some embodiments, the sample comprises cellular fluid, ascites, urine, feces, pancreatic fluid, fluid obtained during endoscopy, blood, mucus, or saliva. In some embodiments, the sample is a stool sample. In some embodiments, the sample is intra-hepatic CCA tissue or extra-hepatic CCA tissue.

Such samples can be obtained by any number of means known in the art, such as will be apparent to the skilled person. For instance, urine and fecal samples are easily attainable, while blood, ascites, serum, or fluid samples can be obtained parenterally by using a needle and syringe, for instance. Cell free or substantially cell free samples can be obtained by subjecting the sample to various techniques known to those of skill in the art which include, but are not limited to, centrifugation and filtration. Although it is generally preferred that no invasive techniques are used to obtain the sample, it still may be preferable to obtain samples such as tissue homogenates, tissue sections, and biopsy specimens

In some embodiments, the technology relates to a method for treating a patient (e.g., a patient with CCA), the method comprising determining the methylation state of one or more chromosomal regions having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) as provided herein and administering a treatment to the patient based on the results of determining the methylation state. The treatment may be administration of a pharmaceutical compound, a vaccine, performing a surgery, imaging the patient, performing another test. Preferably, said use is in a method of clinical screening, a method of prognosis assessment, a method of monitoring the results of therapy, a method to identify patients most likely to respond to a particular therapeutic treatment, a method of imaging a patient or subject, and a method for drug screening and development.

In some embodiments of the technology, a method for diagnosing CCA in a subject is provided. The terms “diagnosing” and “diagnosis” as used herein refer to methods by which the skilled artisan can estimate and even determine whether or not a subject is suffering from a given disease or condition or may develop a given disease or condition in the future. The skilled artisan often makes a diagnosis on the basis of one or more diagnostic indicators, such as for example a biomarker (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)), the methylation state of which is indicative of the presence, severity, or absence of the condition.

Along with diagnosis, clinical cancer prognosis relates to determining the aggressiveness of the cancer and the likelihood of tumor recurrence to plan the most effective therapy. If a more accurate prognosis can be made or even a potential risk for developing the cancer can be assessed, appropriate therapy, and in some instances less severe therapy for the patient can be chosen. Assessment (e.g., determining methylation state) of cancer biomarkers is useful to separate subjects with good prognosis and/or low risk of developing cancer who will need no therapy or limited therapy from those more likely to develop cancer or suffer a recurrence of cancer who might benefit from more intensive treatments.

As such, “making a diagnosis” or “diagnosing”, as used herein, is further inclusive of making determining a risk of developing cancer or determining a prognosis, which can provide for predicting a clinical outcome (with or without medical treatment), selecting an appropriate treatment (or whether treatment would be effective), or monitoring a current treatment and potentially changing the treatment, based on the measure of the diagnostic biomarkers (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)) disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, multiple determination of the biomarkers over time can be made to facilitate diagnosis and/or prognosis. A temporal change in the biomarker can be used to predict a clinical outcome, monitor the progression of cholangiocarcinoma, and/or monitor the efficacy of appropriate therapies directed against the cancer. In such an embodiment for example, one might expect to see a change in the methylation state of one or more biomarkers (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)) disclosed herein (and potentially one or more additional biomarker(s), if monitored) in a biological sample over time during the course of an effective therapy.

The presently disclosed subject matter further provides in some embodiments a method for determining whether to initiate or continue prophylaxis or treatment of a cancer in a subject. In some embodiments, the method comprises providing a series of biological samples over a time period from the subject; analyzing the series of biological samples to determine a methylation state of at least one biomarker disclosed herein in each of the biological samples; and comparing any measurable change in the methylation states of one or more of the biomarkers in each of the biological samples. Any changes in the methylation states of biomarkers over the time period can be used to predict risk of developing cancer, predict clinical outcome, determine whether to initiate or continue the prophylaxis or therapy of the cancer, and whether a current therapy is effectively treating the cancer. For example, a first time point can be selected prior to initiation of a treatment and a second time point can be selected at some time after initiation of the treatment. Methylation states can be measured in each of the samples taken from different time points and qualitative and/or quantitative differences noted. A change in the methylation states of the biomarker levels from the different samples can be correlated with risk for developing cholangiocarcinoma, prognosis, determining treatment efficacy, and/or progression of the cancer in the subject.

In preferred embodiments, the methods and compositions of the invention are for treatment or diagnosis of disease at an early stage, for example, before symptoms of the disease appear. In some embodiments, the methods and compositions of the invention are for treatment or diagnosis of disease at a clinical stage.

As noted, in some embodiments, multiple determinations of one or more diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers can be made, and a temporal change in the marker can be used to determine a diagnosis or prognosis. For example, a diagnostic marker can be determined at an initial time, and again at a second time. In such embodiments, an increase in the marker from the initial time to the second time can be diagnostic of a particular type or severity of cancer, or a given prognosis. Likewise, a decrease in the marker from the initial time to the second time can be indicative of a particular type or severity of cancer, or a given prognosis. Furthermore, the degree of change of one or more markers can be related to the severity of the cancer and future adverse events. The skilled artisan will understand that, while in certain embodiments comparative measurements can be made of the same biomarker at multiple time points, one can also measure a given biomarker at one time point, and a second biomarker at a second time point, and a comparison of these markers can provide diagnostic information.

As used herein, the phrase “determining the prognosis” refers to methods by which the skilled artisan can predict the course or outcome of a condition in a subject. The term “prognosis” does not refer to the ability to predict the course or outcome of a condition with 100% accuracy, or even that a given course or outcome is predictably more or less likely to occur based on the methylation state of a biomarker (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)). Instead, the skilled artisan will understand that the term “prognosis” refers to an increased probability that a certain course or outcome will occur; that is, that a course or outcome is more likely to occur in a subject exhibiting a given condition, when compared to those individuals not exhibiting the condition. For example, in individuals not exhibiting the condition (e.g., having a normal methylation state of one or more chromosomal regions having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)), the chance of a given outcome (e.g., suffering from CCA) may be very low.

In some embodiments, a statistical analysis associates a prognostic indicator with a predisposition to an adverse outcome. For example, in some embodiments, a methylation state different from that in a normal control sample obtained from a patient who does not have a cancer can signal that a subject is more likely to suffer from a cancer than subjects with a level that is more similar to the methylation state in the control sample, as determined by a level of statistical significance. Additionally, a change in methylation state from a baseline (e.g., “normal”) level can be reflective of subject prognosis, and the degree of change in methylation state can be related to the severity of adverse events. Statistical significance is often determined by comparing two or more populations and determining a confidence interval and/or ap value. See, e.g., Dowdy and Wearden, Statistics for Research, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1983, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Exemplary confidence intervals of the present subject matter are 90%, 95%, 97.5%, 98%, 99%, 99.5%, 99.9% and 99.99%, while exemplary p values are 0.1, 0.05, 0.025, 0.02, 0.01, 0.005, 0.001, and 0.0001.

In other embodiments, a threshold degree of change in the methylation state of a prognostic or diagnostic biomarker disclosed herein (e.g., a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2)) can be established, and the degree of change in the methylation state of the biamarker in a biological sample is simply compared to the threshold degree of change in the methylation state. A preferred threshold change in the methylation state for biomarkers provided herein is about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 30%, about 50%, about 75%, about 100%, and about 150%. In yet other embodiments, a “nomogram” can be established, by which a methylation state of a prognostic or diagnostic indicator (biomarker or combination of biomarkers) is directly related to an associated disposition towards a given outcome. The skilled artisan is acquainted with the use of such nomograms to relate two numeric values with the understanding that the uncertainty in this measurement is the same as the uncertainty in the marker concentration because individual sample measurements are referenced, not population averages.

In some embodiments, a control sample is analyzed concurrently with the biological sample, such that the results obtained from the biological sample can be compared to the results obtained from the control sample. Additionally, it is contemplated that standard curves can be provided, with which assay results for the biological sample may be compared. Such standard curves present methylation states of a biomarker as a function of assay units, e.g., fluorescent signal intensity, if a fluorescent label is used. Using samples taken from multiple donors, standard curves can be provided for control methylation states of the one or more biomarkers in normal tissue, as well as for “at-risk” levels of the one or more biomarkers in tissue taken from donors with metaplasia or from donors with cholangiocarcinoma. In certain embodiments of the method, a subject is identified as having metaplasia upon identifying an aberrant methylation state of one or more chromosomal regions having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2) provided herein in a biological sample obtained from the subject. In other embodiments of the method, the detection of an aberrant methylation state of one or more of such biomarkers in a biological sample obtained from the subject results in the subject being identified as having cancer.

The analysis of markers can be carried out separately or simultaneously with additional markers within one test sample. For example, several markers can be combined into one test for efficient processing of a multiple of samples and for potentially providing greater diagnostic and/or prognostic accuracy. In addition, one skilled in the art would recognize the value of testing multiple samples (for example, at successive time points) from the same subject. Such testing of serial samples can allow the identification of changes in marker methylation states over time. Changes in methylation state, as well as the absence of change in methylation state, can provide useful information about the disease status that includes, but is not limited to, identifying the approximate time from onset of the event, the presence and amount of salvageable tissue, the appropriateness of drug therapies, the effectiveness of various therapies, and identification of the subject's outcome, including risk of future events.

The analysis of biomarkers can be carried out in a variety of physical formats. For example, the use of microtiter plates or automation can be used to facilitate the processing of large numbers of test samples. Alternatively, single sample formats could be developed to facilitate immediate treatment and diagnosis in a timely fashion, for example, in ambulatory transport or emergency room settings.

In some embodiments, the subject is diagnosed as having cholangiocarcinoma if, when compared to a control methylation state, there is a measurable difference in the methylation state of at least one biomarker in the sample. Conversely, when no change in methylation state is identified in the biological sample, the subject can be identified as not having cholangiocarcinoma, not being at risk for the cancer, or as having a low risk of the cancer. In this regard, subjects having cholangiocarcinoma or risk thereof can be differentiated from subjects having low to substantially no cancer or risk thereof. Those subjects having a risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma can be placed on a more intensive and/or regular screening schedule, including endoscopic surveillance. On the other hand, those subjects having low to substantially no risk may avoid being subjected to a screening procedure, until such time as a future screening, for example, a screening conducted in accordance with the present technology, indicates that a risk of CCA has appeared in those subjects.

As mentioned above, depending on the embodiment of the method of the present technology, detecting a change in methylation state of the one or more biomarkers can be a qualitative determination or it can be a quantitative determination. As such, the step of diagnosing a subject as having, or at risk of developing, cholangiocarcinoma indicates that certain threshold measurements are made, e.g., the methylation state of the one or more biomarkers in the biological sample varies from a predetermined control methylation state. In some embodiments of the method, the control methylation state is any detectable methylation state of the biomarker. In other embodiments of the method where a control sample is tested concurrently with the biological sample, the predetermined methylation state is the methylation state in the control sample. In other embodiments of the method, the predetermined methylation state is based upon and/or identified by a standard curve. In other embodiments of the method, the predetermined methylation state is a specifically state or range of state. As such, the predetermined methylation state can be chosen, within acceptable limits that will be apparent to those skilled in the art, based in part on the embodiment of the method being practiced and the desired specificity, etc.

Further with respect to diagnostic methods, a preferred subject is a vertebrate subject. A preferred vertebrate is warm-blooded; a preferred warm-blooded vertebrate is a mammal. A preferred mammal is most preferably a human. As used herein, the term “subject’ includes both human and animal subjects. Thus, veterinary therapeutic uses are provided herein. As such, the present technology provides for the diagnosis of mammals such as humans, as well as those mammals of importance due to being endangered, such as Siberian tigers; of economic importance, such as animals raised on farms for consumption by humans; and/or animals of social importance to humans, such as animals kept as pets or in zoos. Examples of such animals include but are not limited to: carnivores such as cats and dogs; swine, including pigs, hogs, and wild boars; ruminants and/or ungulates such as cattle, oxen, sheep, giraffes, deer, goats, bison, and camels; and horses. Thus, also provided is the diagnosis and treatment of livestock, including, but not limited to, domesticated swine, ruminants, ungulates, horses (including race horses), and the like. The presently-disclosed subject matter further includes a system for diagnosing CCA in a subject. The system can be provided, for example, as a commercial kit that can be used to screen for a risk of CCA or diagnose CCA in a subject from whom a biological sample has been collected. An exemplary system provided in accordance with the present technology includes assessing the methylation state of a a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2 (see, Examples 1 and 2).

EXAMPLES Example 1

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) prognosis is poor owing to late-stage, symptomatic presentation. New screening technologies are needed. Experiments conducted during the course of developing embodiments for the present invention used methylome-wide sequencing for discovery of highly discriminant methylated DNA markers for CCA with confirmation in independent samples.

Methods: Reduced representation bisulfate sequencing (RRBS) was performed to identify differentially hyper-methylated CpG regions on DNA extracted from 17 frozen intrahepatic CCA (iCCA) tissue samples in comparison to matched, adjacent benign bile duct epithelia. Sequenced reads were mapped to a bisulfate-treated in-silico reference genome and annotated. CpGs with average group coverage of <200 reads were not further considered. Variance-inflated logistic regression estimated the strength of association between methylation-% and iCCA. Significant sites were then parsed into continuous differentially methylated regions (DMR) containing at least 3 CpGs. DMRs were selected for validation testing based on high discrimination, measured by area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), and signal to noise ratio. Top novel markers were then blindly assayed by methylation specific PCR on DNA extracted from an independent frozen tissue archive of iCCA (n=27), extrahepatic CCA (eCCA) (n=24) and matched, benign control samples for each.

Results: RRBS discovery mapped ˜5-6 million CpGs. After filtration criteria, these clustered into 183 significant DMRs, each containing 6-103 CpGs. Among the 23 markers selected for validation testing, 16 showed an AUC of 0.80-1.0 in iCCA (e.g., CYP26C1, EMX1, HIST1H1D, HOXA1, KLHDC7B, LBX2, LOC645323, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, chr7.25896389, PNMAL2, PRKCB, SP9, ST8SIA1, TRIM36, and ZNF781). While selected marker candidates were slightly less accurate for eCCA, 8 proved highly discriminant for tumors in both anatomic locations. HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1 and chr7.25896389-25896501 showed AUCs of 0.99, 0.96, 0.93, 0.92, 0.90, 0.87, 0.85 & 0.84 and 0.84, 0.89, 0.81, 0.86, 0.86, 0.81, 0.80 & 0.83 for iCCA and eCCA, respectively. Multiple marker combinations improved sensitivity for eCCA. The most discriminant marker pair was CYP26C1 and LOC645323, which exhibited sensitivity of 83% for eCCA at a specificity of 95% (AUC 0.92).

Table 1 shows discriminate cholangiocarcinoma markers including forward and reverse primers for CYP26C1, EMX1, HOXA1, KLHDC7B, LOC645323, chr7.25896389, PRKCB, SP9, ST8SIA1, and ZNF781 (and additionally BMP3, NDRG4, HIST1H1D, LBX2, chr5.7726860, chr.6.2817543, PNMAL2, and TRIM36).

Tables 2 and 3 show two sets of differentially methylated regions for the detection of intra and extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The first set (Table 2) contains 91 DMRs and was generated from 18 microdissected frozen intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tissues using both normal colonic and normal pancreas as controls. The second set (Table 3) contains 90 DMRs and used normal pancreas tissue as control. The former set will find application generally in stool or other assays where normal colonic contamination could occur, and the latter to all other media, including pancreatic juice, blood, tissue, etc. Subsequent MSP-based technical and biological validations of 23 top candidates were performed. RRBS was used to query the entire methylomes of sample cohorts. Sequencing reads were analyzed using internally developed algorithms and filters designed to yield highly sensitive and specific DMRs. These DMRs were then used to design methylation-specific PCR assays using the most discriminate CpG patterns. Performance characteristics in tissues yield AUCs in excess of 0.85 and fold change ratios greater than 20. 9 of the choloangiocarcinoma MSP assays were used in a recent GI-wide study to assess site-specificity. The HOXA1 assay, in particular, was postive for pancreatic and biliary cancers and much less so for other GI cancers.

FIG. 1 shows the biological validation of candidate markers at 90% specificity for intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas (iCCAs). Notably, for iCCA, HOXA1 alone (AUC 0.99) yielded 100% sensitivity at 90% specificity.

FIG. 2 shows the biological validation of candidate markers at 90% specificity for extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinomas (eCCAs). Notably, for eCCA, the marker pair CYP26C1 and LOC645323 (AUC 0.92) was 83% sensitive at 90% specificity.

FIG. 3 shows AUC for iCCA and eCCA for the 16 markers among the 23 markers selected for validation testing. The first column for each marker is for iCCA. The second column for each marker is for eCCA.

Conclusion: Novel methylation markers for CCA were identified by RRBS and validated in both iCCA and eCCA.

TABLE 1 Discriminate Cholangiocarcinoma Markers Forward Reverse Marker AUC Primer Primer BMP3 0.7292689 GTTTAATTTTCG CGCTACGAAACA 2 GTTTCGTCGTC CTCCGA  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 25) NO: 26) NDRG4 0.6348488 CGGTTTTCGTTC CCGCCTTCTACG 8 GTTTTTTCG CGACTA  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 43) NO: 44) COL23A1 0.7000775 CYP26C1 0.9230173 GGT TTT TTG  TAT AAA AAC  1 GTT ATT TCG  GCG CGT AAT  GAA TCG T  CAA CGC T  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 1) NO: 2) EMX1 0.9442004 CGG GTT TTA  CCT TTT CGT  7 GCG ATG TTT  TCG TAT AAA  ATT TTA GTT ATT TCG TT  TCG T (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 4) NO: 3) GFI1 0.8276931 HIST1H1B 0.6329113 9 HIST1H1D 0.7571686 GGC GTA ATT  GAC CAA AAA  9 GTT GGG AAA  AAC GCC GCT  CGT AAA GTA ACG CT TTC (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 34) NO: 33) HLX 0.7730560 6 HOXA1 0.9483337 TGG GTT ATC  GAA TTC CTC  6 GGT TTT TTA  CCA ACC AAC  AGT TCG G  CCT CTA CG  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 5) NO: 6) ITGA4 0.8302764 1 KLHDC7B 0.8989925 TAG TAC GTT  CGA AAA CCC  1 TAG GTA ATT  AAC TCC CGA  GTT TAG GTT  A TAG TCG T (SEQ ID (SEQ ID  NO: 8) NO: 7) LBX2 0.6900025 CGT CGC GGA  ATA CCA AAA  8 ATT TAG GGA  CTC GCA CCT  TTA ACG ACG AC (SEQ ID  (SEQ ID NO: 35) NO: 36) LOC645323 0.8791010 GGT AGT GTT  GAT ACG CGA  1 TTT TCG AGA  ACA CGC ACA  CGC GGTC  CG (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 9) NO: 10) LOC645323.R 0.7734435 6 chr12.133484 0.6861276 966.13348577 2 8 chr5.7726860 0.7910100 TAT TTT ATA  GTC GAT AAA  0.77268725 8 GTC GCG TTA  AAA CCT ACG  AAA GCGT  CGA CGA A  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 37) NO: 38) chr6.1064425 0.7155773 88.106443096 7 chr6.2817543 0.8460346 TAG AGG TTG  AAA TTT ACA  7.28175596 2 TGG TTA GGG  ATC AAT TCT  GAA GGG TC  ACG CGC T  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 39) NO: 40) chr7.2589638 0.9101007 GTT TTT CGT  ACC TCA ATA  9.25896501 5 TGA GTT AGA  TAA ATA AAA  AGC GTT ACG CAA (SEQ ID  (SEQ ID  NO: 11) NO: 12) PNMAL2 0.8264014 TTC GTA GAC  ACT TCC TCC  5 GTA ATT TTT  GTC GAA ATC  TCG TTT TAT  GCT AAC G  AGC GC (SEQ ID (SEQ ID  NO: 42) NO: 41) PRKCB 0.9026091 GTC GTT TTT  TAA TCC CAA  5 GGG CGT TTT  ACG AAC CGC  AGA GGC CG (SEQ ID  (SEQ ID  NO: 13) NO: 14) SP9 0.8736760 CGG GGG TAA  CGA AAA ATT  5 AAA GGG TAG  CGA AAC GAA  CGA TAG TGA  ACG TC TAC  (SEQ ID  (SEQ ID NO: 16) NO: 15) ST8SIA1 0.8532678 CGG TTG TTT  GAT CTA ATT  9 AAC GAG AAA  CCT CCT CCA  GAG ATC GT  CGC CGT A  (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 17) NO: 18) TRIM36 0.7809351 TTT GTC GGT  ACG AAT CCG  6 ATG CGA TAA  CAC TCG ACT  AGG TCG G  CAA CG (SEQ ID (SEQ ID  NO: 33) NO: 34) ZNF781 0.8314389 CGC GGT GAG  AAC GTC CAA  1 TTT AGT TAT  AAC GCC CAA  TGA TTT TTA  ACG TA ACG G (SEQ ID  (SEQ ID  NO: 20) NO: 19)

TABLE 2 Cholangiocarcinoma DMRs generated from 18 microdissected frozen intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tissues using both normal colonic and normal pancreas as controls Chromo- Chromosome some Coordinates Gene Annotation chr18 21199475-21199636 ANKRD29 chr12 21680721-21680828 C12orf39 chr12 2800272-2800464 CACNA1C chr12 2162474-2162746 CACNA1C chr17 48639261-48639451 CACNA1G chr16 89008467-89008548 CBFA2T3 chr16 89007265-89007360 CBFA2T3 chr3 112052188-112052342 CD200 chr3 142839223-142839495 CHST2 chr3 142838025-142838494 CHST2 chr5 178017215-178017456 COL23A1 chr10 94822416-94822607 CYP26C1 chr12 49391148-49391271 DDN chr11 118663134-118663291 DDX6 chr7 102921398-102921511 DPY19L2P2 chr2 73147710-73147772 EMX1 chr19 55592007-55592125 EPS8L1 chr19 55592819-55592937 EPS8L1 chr19 55591690-55591753 EPS8L1 chr13 28674551-28674643 FLT3 chr16 86542943-86543036 FOXF1 chr2 20866066-20866336 GDF7 chr1 92948946-92949053 GFIl chr1 235813658-235813798 GNG4 chr7 6570511-6570865 GRID2IP chr6 27834959-27835386 HIST1H1B chr6 26234861-26235051 HIST1H1D chr6 26273744-26273792 HIST1H3G chr1 221052351-221052479 HLX chr1 221053381-221053616 HLX chr10 124895270-124895437 HMX3 chr7 27136145-27136425 HOXA1 chr7 27135603-27136002 HOXA1 chr7 27209650-27209687 HOXA9 chr17 46655791-46655837 HOXB3 chr17 46688289-46688399 HOXB7 chr17 46690336-46690596 HOXB7 chr17 47073401-47073437 IGF2BP1 chr7 23508914-23509225 IGF2BP3 chr20 20348855-20348967 INSM1 chr20 20348213-20348415 INSM1 chr2 182322268-182322409 ITGA4 chr2 182321848-182321983 ITGA4 chr16 87636217-87636415 JPH3 chr12 4919001-4919087 KCNA6 chr22 50987205-50987270 KLHDC7B chr2 74726179-74726257 LBX2 chr8 72756221-72756295 LOC100132891 chr4 13549245-13549293 LOC285548 chr5 87970706-87970894 LOC645323 chr15 84748863-84748932 LOC648809 chr11 61276632-61276910 LRRC1OB chr19 3786252-3786371 MATK chr1 156405616-156405739 MAX.chr1.156405616- 156405739 chr1 32237942-32238004 MAX.chr1.32237942- 32238004 chr10 119312919-119312997 MAX.chr10.119312919- 119312997 chr11 123301058-123301255 MAX.chr11.123301058- 123301255 chr12 133484966-133485778 MAX.chr12.133484966- 133485778 chr2 105488742-105489008 MAX.chr2.105488742- 105489008 chr2 118981853-118981949 MAX.chr2.118981853- 118981949 chr20 3229317-3229692 MAX.chr20.3229317- 3229692 chr22 42679617-42680017 MAX.chr22.42679617- 42680017 chr4 113445045-113445162 MAX.chr4.113445045- 113445162 chr5 10333495-10333893 MAX.chr5.10333495- 10333893 chr5 134879359-134879492 MAX.chr5.134879359- 134879492 chr5 42995283-42995370 MAX.chr5.42995283- 42995370 chr6 106442588-106443096 MAX.chr6.106442588- 106443096 chr6 26234019-26234186 MAX.chr6.26234019- 26234186 chr6 91320565-91320758 MAX.chr6.91320565- 91320758 chr7 25896389-25896501 MAX.chr7.25896389- 25896501 chr7 99595323-99595474 MAX.chr7.99595323- 99595474 chr9 114074-114367 MAX.chr9.114074- 114367 chr9 79627079-79627175 MAX.chr9.79627079- 79627175 chr6 108490524-108490539 NR2E1 chr5 139283409-139283483 NRG2 chr12 5541234-5541271 NTF3 chr8 99957451-99957607 OSR2 chr12 94543138-94543232 PLXNC1 chr19 46996606-46996841 PNMAL2 chr16 23847825-23848025 PRKCB chr16 23847575-23847621 PRKCB chr4 42399341-42399431 SHISA3 chr2 175202025-175202158 SP9 chr12 22486861-22487019 ST8SIA1 chr12 22487528-22487620 ST8SIA1 chr10 17496572-17496711 ST8SIA6 chr7 100224376-100224475 TFR2 chr5 114516047-114516319 TRIM36 chr6 3230007-3230059 TUBB2B chr6 150260025-150260157 ULBP2 chr19 38182950-38183127 ZNF781

TABLE 3 Cholangiocarcinoma DMRs using normal pancreas as controls Chromosome Chromosome Coordinates Gene Annotation chr1 145562791-145562906 ANKRD35 chr12 21680381-21680442 C12orf39 chr8 69243423-69243884 C8orf34 chr12 2162474-2162804 CACNA1C chr3 112052188-112052405 CD200 chr5 115152371-115152505 CD01 chr7 136555719-136556019 CHRM2 chr12 111472738-111472835 CUX2 chr10 94834019-94834583 CYP26A1 chr21 27945125-27945267 CYYR1 chr13 50701723-50701817 DLEU2 chr18 67068438-67068578 DOK6 chr18 2847538-2847945 EMILIN2 chr18 5543753-5543932 EPB41L3 chr19 55592819-55592937 EPS8L1 chr7 27278981-27279087 EVX1 chr13 29068322-29068446 FLT1 chr10 26504030-26504426 GAD2 chr18 74961713-74962090 GALR1 chr3 128212076-128212146 GATA2 chr2 20866066-20866336 GDF7 chr12 129338638-129338792 GLT1D1 chr1 101005457-101005685 GPR88 chr1 101004620-101005237 GPR88 chr6 26273744-26273884 HIST1H3G chr1 221052023-221052602 HLX chr1 221053381-221053842 HLX chr4 57522513-57522653 HOPX chr7 27136145-27136425 HOXA1 chr17 46655791-46655837 HOXB3 chr16 22825790-22825885 HS3ST2 chr19 49339644-49339777 HSD17B14 chr20 20348122-20348415 INSM1 chr5 1887051-1887143 IRX4 chr2 182321830-182321983 ITGA4 chr2 182322268-182322409 ITGA4 chr2 182322891-182322981 ITGA4 chr17 73750051-73750237 ITGB4 chr17 73749594-73749691 ITGB4 chr1 111217635-111217816 KCNA3 chr1 215255702-215255769 KCNK2 chr6 62995727-62995877 KHDRBS2 chr22 50987205-50987270 KLHDC7B chr1 65991493-65991631 LEPR chr19 3786252-3786371 MATK chr19 3785828-3786024 MATK chr1 156405616-156405739 MAX.chr1.156405616- 156405739 chr10 23462417-23462527 MAX.chr10.23462417- 23462527 chr11 14926602-14927148 MAX.chr11.14926602- 14927148 chr14 61104539-61104618 MAX.chr14.61104539- 61104618 chr18 13137148-13137759 MAX.chr18.13137148- 13137759 chr18 53447550-53447661 MAX.chr18.53447550- 53447661 chr2 66809242-66809304 MAX.chr2. 66809242- 66809304 chr2 71116036-71116353 MAX.chr2.71116036- 71116353 chr22 17850421-17850568 MAX.chr22.17850421- 17850568 chr4 62067637-62067732 MAX.chr4. 62067637- 62067732 chr6 10381594-10381699 MAX.chr6.10381594- 10381699 chr6 1378408-1378478 MAX.chr6.1378408- 1378478 chr7 25896389-25896501 MAX.chr7.25896389- 25896501 chr7 27209650-27209687 MIR196B chr7 156798436-156798546 MNX1 chr4 174450408-174450497 NBLA00301 chr12 5541234-5541336 NTF3 chr12 5542167-5542272 NTF3 chr15 88800287-88800568 NTRK3 chr15 88801004-88801109 NTRK3 chr21 34395395-34395485 OLIG2 chr12 94543138-94543232 PLXNC1 chr19 46996516-46996841 PNMAL2 chr19 46997148-46997243 PNMAL2 chr16 23847825-23848025 PRKCB chr16 23847575-23847699 PRKCB chr7 157476955-157477032 PTPRN2 chr17 77179605-77180064 RBFOX3 chr5 80690040-80690227 RNU5E chr1 237205369-237205464 RYR2 chr16 51190008-51190146 SALL1 chr19 6753409-6753639 SH2D3A chr4 42399256-42399431 SHISA3 chr1 234261126-234261264 SLC35F3 chr10 106400259-106400346 SORCS3 chr2 5836452-5836573 SOX11 chr1 248020625-248020730 TRIM58 chr7 19157563-19157634 TWIST1 chr19 30018154-30018190 VSTM2B chr19 30016283-30016383 VSTM2B chr19 30017506-30017595 VSTM2B chr22 46367988-46368087 WNT7B chr8 56015654-56015761 XKR4 chr2 145273657-145273737 ZEB2

Example II

This example describes the identification of markers for the detection of extra-hepatic CCA (eCCA).

Methods: Reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) was performed on DNA extracted from 18 frozen eCCA tissue samples and matched, adjacent benign biliary epithelia or liver parenchyma. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) with at least 3 CpGs were ranked by area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) & by tumor:normal ratio and then technically validated by methylation specific PCR (MSP) on DNA from same samples. Best DMRs were selected for biological validation on DNA from independent tissues comprising 15 eCCA cases and 60 controls (6 adjacent bile duct, 18 adjacent liver, 18 white blood cell samples, 18 normal colon epithelia) using MSP. Biologically valid DMRs were then blindly assayed on DNA extracted from independent archival biliary brushing specimens including 14 perihilar (pCCA) & 4 distal (dCCA) cases and 18 matched cytology-negative controls (CTRL), 4 of which had primary sclerosing cholangitis (CTRL-PSC).

Results: From 5.5 million CpGs, 3674 significant DMRs were mapped; 43 were selected for technical validation (see, Table 4) from which 16 DMRs had an AUC of 0.75-1.0 (see, Table 5). In biological validation, 8 of these showed an AUC>0.75 in eCCA tissues. In brushings, methylated EMX1, HOXA1, VSTM2B. 764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2, showed sensitivities of 100% 89%, 83%, 78%, 72%, 72%, 72%, and 72%, respectively, at 90% specificity. Primer information for the EIVIX1, HOXA1, VSTM2B. 764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2 is provided in Table 6.

Conclusion: Whole-methylome discovery by next-generation DNA sequencing yielded novel, highly-discriminant methylation markers for eCCA. Results were validated in independent tissues as well as cytology brushings.

TABLE 4 45 DMRs selected for technical validation following reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) performed on DNA extracted from 16 frozen eCCA tissue samples. Chromosome and Chromosome Gene Annotation Coordinates ADAMTS10-RS chr19:8675582-8675712 ADAMTS17-FS chr15:100881962-100882034 BACH2-FS chr6:91004976-91005235 BNIP3-FS chr10:133795886-133795981 C12orf39-FS chr12:21680721-21680828 CUX2-FS chr12:111471915-111472063 DKFZP434H168-FS chr16:56228418-56228445 DOCK10.1367.1368-RS chr2:225906664-225906766 EDARADD-FS.fit chr1:236559049-236559149 ELM01.293-RS.fit chr7:37487755-37487812 ELM01.295-RS chr7:37488645-37488836 FADS2-RS chr11:61596137-61596264 FER1L4.300-FS chr20:34189085-34189184 FER1L4.301-FS chr20:34189488-34189580 GALNT13 chr2:154728168-154728187 GNA01-RS chr16:56225334-56225426 GPR150-RS chr5:94957015-94957061 KCNA1-FS chr12:5019401-5019483 KLF12-RS chr13:74707214-74707396 LRRC10B-FS.fit chr11:61276688-61277038 MATK.210-RS chr19:3786125-3786199 MAX.chr2.71503632- chr2:71503632-71503860 71503860-RS MAX.chr20.40321476- chr20:40321476-40321852 40321852-RS MAX.chr5.127537200- chr5:127537200-127537275 127537275-FS MAX.chr7.35226233- chr7:35226233-35226276 35226276-FS MDFI-RS chr6:41606384-41606401 NGFR-FS chr17:47573867-47574084 NTF3-RS chr12:5542167-5542211 NTRK3.634-RS chr15:88800510-88800558 PACSIN3-FS chr11:47208766-47208861 PTGDR-RS chr14:52735457-52735485 RYR2-RS chr1:237206501-237206519 S1PR1-FS chr1:101702698-101702745 SALL1-FS chr16:51189969-51190019 SEPTIN9.1286-FS chr17:75370018-75370102 ZFP3O-FS chr19:38145754-38146121 ZNF682-FS chr19:20149796-20149923 MAX.chr1.2574556- chr1:2574556-2574652 2574652-FS MAX.chr11.14926627- chr11:14926627-14926641 14926641-RS MAX.chr2.114260890- chr2:114260890-114260992 114260992-FS MAX.chr7.1705970- chr7:1705970-1706018 1706018-RS MAX.chr9.139085468- chr9:139085468-139085520 139085520-FS VSTM2B.764-RS chr19:30019542-30019613

TABLE 5 Top 16 DMRs having an AUC > 0.75 from 45 DMRs selected for technical validation following reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) performed on DNA extracted from 16 frozen eCCA tissue samples. Chromosome and Chromosome Gene Annotation Coordinates BNIP3-FS chr10:133795886- 133795981 DKFZP434H168-FS chr16:56228418-56228445 FER1L4.301-FS chr20:34189488-34189580 KCNA1-FS chr12:5019401-5019483 KLF12-RS chr13:74707214-74707396 MAX.chr2.71503632- chr2:71503632-71503860 71503860-RS MDFI-RS chr6:41606384-41606401 NTF3-RS chr12:5542167-5542211 PACSIN3-FS chr11:47208766-47208861 PTGDR-RS chr14:52735457-52735485 RYR2-RS chr1:237206501-237206519 S1PR1-FS chr1:101702698-101702745 SALL1-FS chr16:51189969-51190019 ZNF682-FS chr19:20149796-20149923 MAX.chr2.114260890- chr2:114260890-114260992 114260992-FS VSTM2B.764-RS chr19:30019542-30019613

TABLE 6 Primer information for EMX1, HOXA1, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, and RYR2, which showed sensitivities of 100% 89%, 83%, 78%, 72%, 72%, 72%, and 72%, respectively, at 90% specificity. Gene Forward  Reverse Annota- Tissue Primer Primer tion AUC Derivation (5′-3′) (5′-3′) EMX1 100% iCCA CGG GTT CCT TTT CGT derived TTA GCG TCG TAT AAA ATG TTT ATT TCG TT ATT TTA (SEQ ID GTT TCG NO: 4) T (SEQ ID NO: 3) HOXA1  89% iCCA TGG GTT GAA TTC CTC derived ATC GGT CCA ACC AAC TTT TTA CCT CTA CG AGT TCG (SEQ ID G NO: 6) (SEQ ID NO: 5) VSTM2B.  83% eCCA GTTTTAT ATCTATCGCC 764 derived AGGTTA GATTACAAAA GCGTCG TCGAA AGTCGA (SEQ ID (SEQ ID NO: 22) NO: 21) KCNA1  78% eCCA GGGGGT GACGCCCCT derived AGGGAA CTCAATTAAA GGAATA CAATCG TTTTCGT (SEQ ID C NO: 24) (SEQ ID  NO: 23) BMP3  72% GTTTAAT CGCTACGAA TTTCGGT ACACTCCGA TTCGTC (SEQ ID GTC NO: 26) (SEQ ID NO: 25) SALL1  72% eCCA TTTCGTC ATCACGACG derived GTTCGTT CTACACCCG ATTAAG AC GGTTATT (SEQ ID TTTAGAC NO: 28) (SEQ ID NO: 27) PTGDR  72% eCCA TTAGTAG AAAACTATCC derived TAAATTT GACCGCGAA TTTTGGT TACGAA TTAGGG (SEQ ID CGT NO: 30) (SEQ ID NO: 29) RYR2  72% eCCA TTGTAAG TAATCCCCGC derived CGGTTA GATTCCCGAA TAGTATT (SEQ ID ATTACG NO: 32) G (SEQ ID NO: 31)

All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Various modifications and variations of the described compositions, methods, and uses of the technology will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the technology as described. Although the technology has been described in connection with specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention that are obvious to those skilled in pharmacology, biochemistry, medical science, or related fields are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. 

We claim:
 1. A method for characterizing a sample obtained from a human subject, comprising: a) obtaining a sample from a human subject; b) assaying a methylation state of one or more markers in the sample, wherein the marker comprises a base in a chromosomal region having an annotation selected from the following groups of markers: HOXA1, EMX1, PRKCB, CYP26C1, LOC645323, ZNF781, ST8SIA1, chr7.25896389-25896501, VSTM2B.764, KCNA1, BMP3, SALL1, PTGDR, HIST1H1D, KLHDC7B, LBX2, chr5.77268600, chr6.28175437, PNMAL2, SP9, TRIM36, and RYR2; c) comparing the methylation state of the assayed marker to the methylation state of the marker assayed in a subject that does not have a neoplasm. 